Rwanda, Angola sign cooperation framework

The Governments of Rwanda and Angola yesterday signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral relations betwen the two countries. The Minister for Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo, and her Angolan counterpart, Georges Rebelo Chikoti, signed three pacts of general cooperation agreement, the joint cooperation commission and an MoU on political consultations. The diplomats said the three agreements have effectively laid the ground work needed to allow the two countries to cooperate in different areas such as supporting each other on political matters and conducting bilateral economic cooperation in different areas. Mushikiwabo told journalists after the signing ceremony at her office in Kigali that the three deals will help boost practical activities of bilateral cooperation. “We have covered the entire ground of cooperation. What is now left is the practical aspect of cooperation but we have established the legal and diplomatic framework that allows the two countries to start working together,” she said. Her Angolan counterpart said it was high time the two countries turned the peaceful relations between them into practical actions to spur development. “We are getting into an era of development and cooperation. Wars are far behind us and we all want peace in this region which we can only attain through mutual cooperation,” Chikoti said. The two countries have among other things expressed interest in cooperating on air transport projects. Rwanda’s national carrier, RwandAir, will be working closely with the Angolan Airline to facilitate air transport between the two countries, the diplomats said. Mushikiwabo said other areas of cooperation will also be discussed, including investment and trade, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Mushikiwabo had earlier on announced that Rwanda will soon open its Embassy in Luanda in order to facilitate the implementation of cooperation projects. “We are following the instructions of our Presidents who have decided that our countries transform the good relations into practical cooperation,” Mushikiwabo said. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is the current chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, through which regional leaders have met to addres regional security issues. Minister Chikoti said after meeting President Paul Kagame at Village Urugwiro on Wednesday that both Presidents Kagame and dos Santos are committed to regional peace.

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Rwanda, Angola sign cooperation framework